


Standing Around Me Singing 'Happy Birthday'

by onethingsuniversal



Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Birthday, Cake, F/F, First birthday, Fluff, Gifts, Greenelan as Parents, emma just really likes birthdays ok, happy 1 month to rosie, you really thought i was done with these
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29164869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onethingsuniversal/pseuds/onethingsuniversal
Summary: “I can’t sleep, I’m excited.” Emma huffed, lying back down again too, somehow closer to her wife than she had been before, “Please…” she tried again, but to no avail.“It’s a Saturday, any time before eight is too early and isn’t your birthday, remember. Just go back to sleep, once she’s up we can bring her into our bed for her bottle and some birthday cuddles.” Alyssa suggested, she could practically hear the smile splitting onto her wife’s face at the idea, she was a sucker for cuddles and there were certainly worst things to have to endure. Admittedly she was feeling rather sentimental about the date even if Emma was the more outwardly excited one of the pair. She couldn’t quite believe it had been a whole year; time was a cruel thing. She heard a disgruntled reply before drifting back off to snooze for a little longerorIt's Rosie's first birthday and Emma is very very excited, Alyssa didn't realise she had two one-year-olds.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene & Emma Nolan, Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 16
Kudos: 23





	Standing Around Me Singing 'Happy Birthday'

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone! so it's been a month since i posted the first rosie fic and i thought it was fitting to post this, birthday inspired work, today to celebrate. i genuinely planned for this to be short but i got a bit carried away so i hope you enjoy. i know that not everyone is interested in rosie but she's honestly a blast to write and i am so so so invested in her and will continue to write her after this rest assured!
> 
> this is so so cute and the idea of emma being so excited, alyssa being slightly tired of it and rosie just straight up confused is adorable so it was really quite fun to bring to life.
> 
> shoutout to kate because she kinda had the basic idea for this and came up with a few of the specifics as we brainstormed. also i probably never would have even thought of her/developed rosie if we hadn't have started talking- basically meaning my constant rosie spam is all her fault ;) (wormswormsworms)
> 
> (title from the moment i knew by tswift)(ofc, what were you expecting?)

Emma was lying, warm in bed, legs starting to bounce in anticipation as soon as the fog in her brain cleared just enough for her to realise what day it was. The sun had only just begun to rise, she could see that through the window that hadn’t had its curtains drawn the night before, they were too preoccupied preparing for the day. Light was beginning to bathe their bedroom in a gentle glow, alerting her that it was almost time but still a little too early to wake up her wife who was still sound asleep next to her. She stilled her shuffling for a moment to listen out carefully for any sound from their daughter, apparently still sleeping in the room next door, but she heard nothing so resumed her slight movements, feeling smooth warm skin touch hers as she stretched out, exhaling softly at the relief from the. Alyssa was sprawled across her side of the bed, definitely invading Emma’s space too but she didn’t mind. The closeness of their legs touching was comforting to her, she tried to enjoy the quiet that was around them before the day would become a blur of inevitable excitement, but it was no use- she was too excited herself and she couldn’t help the way she fidgeted and pulled at the sheets wrapped around her and her bed-mate. She felt a kind yet firm hand on her thigh, bringing her leg to a standstill.

“Em- stop it.” Alyssa mumbled, warning, into her soft pillow, slightly agitated by the movement that had stirred her to semi-consciousness far earlier than she wanted to be. In the last year she’d become far too used to waking up before the sun when Rosie was still not quite there with sleeping through the night, but being woken up by a fully grown woman, her wife, before the baby was even awake was just a bit frustrating.

“Sorry- Sorry!” Emma whisper shouted in return, reaching for her glasses that were set messily on the nightstand. She was quiet for a minute before speaking up again, “Can I?” Emma asked a very drowsy Alyssa, hoping she’d catch her drift.

“Can you what? Go back to sleep? Yes, yes you can.” She retorted sarcastically, not even bothering to lift her head from where it was rested. It was far too early to be nice; it was on Emma to deal with the consequences of being awake before their literal infant.

“Noo! Can I wake her up yet?” Emma clarified eagerly. She wouldn’t usually be so forward about rousing their daughter before she was fully rested, if there was one thing she’d learnt in her first year as a parent it was that sleep was a valuable thing in most cases- but this wasn’t most cases. It was Rosie’s first birthday and Emma loved birthdays. She’d planned far too much for the day, and even if Alyssa wasn’t entirely convinced that the birthday girl would be interested in the slightest, she was still looking forward to celebrating. 

“What’s the time?” Alyssa enquired as she rolled over to face her wife for the first time since she’d started to wake up, if she wasn’t so irked, she probably would have melted at the look of pure joy on her wife’s face- maybe it did just a slightly despite her stony persona.

Emma looked over at the clock on the wall, squinting at it through the still present darkness, “Uh—half six...” Emma admitted dryly, Alyssa sighed at that, she knew the answer to her question would be no because Rosie hadn’t been waking up until half past seven in the last few weeks and neither of them were too keen on interrupting that.

“No- Emma it’s too early, go back to sleep.” Alyssa confirmed Emma’s suspicions as she returned to her prior sleeping position, aiming to get at least half an hour extra sleep before the festivities commence. 

“I can’t sleep, I’m excited.” Emma huffed, lying back down again too, somehow closer to her wife than she had been before, “Please…” she tried again, but to no avail.

“It’s a Saturday, any time before eight is too early and isn’t your birthday, remember. Just go back to sleep, once she’s up we can bring her into our bed for her bottle and some birthday cuddles.” Alyssa suggested, she could practically hear the smile splitting onto her wife’s face at the idea, she was a sucker for cuddles and there were certainly worst things to have to endure. Admittedly she was feeling rather sentimental about the date even if Emma was the more outwardly excited one of the pair. She couldn’t quite believe it had been a whole year; time was a cruel thing. She heard a disgruntled reply before drifting back off to snooze for a little longer

“Fine, you’re no fun.”

\------

The excitement must have been just too much for Emma, because despite telling Alyssa she couldn’t sleep, she fell sound asleep. The next time Emma opened her eyes, there was a brightness present that wasn’t there before and for a moment she wondered how long she’d fallen asleep for- what if she’d missed Rosie’s birthday?

With that fresh panic in her mind, she rolled over, glad to see Alyssa, in the same sleepshirt she’d been wearing the last time she woke up- but this time she had a baby in her arms, their baby, and she was giving her a bottle like she did every morning, talking sweetly down to her about nothing in particular- this certainly wasn’t the first time she’d seen the sight- but this time Emma was a little disappointed by it. Still, she swallowed that thought and sat up enough to kiss Rosie on the forehead gently, a bright smile on her face.

“Good morning birthday girl!” Emma sing-songed, earning a smile from Alyssa- and Rosie from behind the bottle she had in her mouth, reaching out a hand to her mama from where she was laying in her other mom’s arms, now acting as an expected distraction from the milk she’d previously been enjoying before the interruption. 

“Good morning sleepyhead.” Alyssa teased with a smirk at her wife, taking the now discarded bottle and placing it carefully on the nightstand, with her free arm, to avoid it spilling on the bedsheets that she’d only just changed.

“You woke her up.” Emma grumbled lowly, a playful frown on her face as she reached to take Rosie from Alyssa’s grasp, eager to give the now one-year-old a cuddle for herself.

“You were asleep, and correction, I didn’t wake her up, she woke up and I wasn’t going to make her wait for your sake. It’s only nine-ish and don’t worry you’ve not missed much. She’s been up for a little under an hour, but we just had a little snuggle and some milk” a  
Alyssa explained in her defence, reaching forward to press a gentle kiss to Emma’s furrowed brow, earning a hint of a smile from her wife who was muttering quiet disdain to Rosie, sitting comfortably, but very much on top of her.

Emma narrowed her eyes at her for a moment before remembering what the day was and announcing enthusiastically as she tickled the baby, getting her to laugh as if she had any idea what was going on, “Fine, we can’t be grumpy can we Ro? Because we’ve got to be excited today! Yes, we do!” she said, baby-talk in full force. She’d always said she wouldn’t be one of those parents, but she definitely was exactly one of those parents, near-shamelessly. “Why don’t we go and see if Rosie had any presents hmm? I think there might be some!” Emma asked, earning a shout of ‘mama’ in approval from Rosie, even if that was her only consistent word that she had under her belt so far.

They went out into the living room where they’d painstakingly spent hours the evening before, mainly prompted by Emma of course. Emma had Rosie in her arms and pointed as the parents gasped melodramatically, sharing a fond, knowing glance.

“Look at that Rosie! All for you.” Alyssa said, watching fondly as Rosie was clapping her hands, a wide, toothy smile on her face, clearly feeling the second-hand buzz about the day. Emma carefully set the baby down on the living room rug, sitting down on the floor next to her with a slight groan at how stiff she was after falling asleep for her ‘nap’ earlier that morning. Rosie eagerly crawled over to the pile, barely big enough to pull any off of the pile, instead using one of the boxes to pull herself up onto her wobbly feet, completely fascinated by the shiny paper that wrapped the many gifts.

Using her daughter’s momentary distraction to her advantage, something she’d become rather skilled at in the past year, Alyssa rushes off to make two cups of coffee, Emma may have fallen asleep and got a couple hours of rest but the disruption to her own sleep hadn’t allowed for the best snoozing possible. After placing Emma’s own mug onto the coffee table, a safe distance away from any reaching that the now-cruising baby would get up to- Alyssa did always have an eye for safety.

Alyssa planted herself down on to the couch, coffee in hand, ready to watch the pair as the birthday festivities were set to begin. Alyssa was as excited, secretly, she’d always been the type of person that celebrated any milestone, be that week-anniversaries in the beginning months of their relationship in high-school or Rosie’s monthly ‘birthdays’ but, as much as the blonde wasn’t too enthusiastic about that kind of thing, Emma was overjoyed at the idea of having the best possible day for her- so she let her take the lead without thinking about it. She was pulled from her thoughts by an animated declaration.

“Come on it’s time to open up some of these presents Ro!” Emma said, as she pulled one of the gifts from the pile to give to the little girl who had long fallen to a sitting position on the floor, toying with a loose piece of tape off the edge of one of them.

“Emma it’s her birthday let her go at her own place.” Emma chastised from her seat with a soft smile, amused by her wife’s eagerness.

“Mama! Mama!” Rosie chimed, clearly in agreement with Alyssa, despite having not a single clue what was going on. Emma smiled fondly, rolling her eyes at how similar her wife and daughter already were- even if she was only a year old.

“Ok, ok. Do you want to come and sit here and open this up Baby?” Emma asked her, smiling fondly as she let her climb into her lap once she had lost interest in the very fascinating tape that had had her attention.

“Ywes! Ywes!” Rosie perked up, wriggling her bum as she got comfy in Emma’s crossed legs, curiously taking the gift out of her mom’s hand and trying to copy how she was expertly pulling the paper off, furrowing her brow as she concentrated on the motion, fingers slipping on the shiny coated paper.

“Wow what’s this one?” Emma gasped, looking down at her daughter’s wide eyes, once they finally, together, managed to reveal a brightly coloured story book from its prison of wrapping paper. Emma had picked this specific book out herself, whilst her and Alyssa had been out shopping in preparation for the day, but she held it just out of Rosie’s arms, a chubby fist tried to grab roughly at the pages to preserve the crispness of the pages that she was sure would soon be dog-eared and well read, as she read out the title of the book to her daughter, “This one is called ‘Mr Dog and Friends’ and he goes all around his house- that’s a pet shop!” she explained. Emma had personally been quite fond of the premise of the book and had been eager to be able to read it as one of their nightly bedtime stories.

Rosie had quickly got the hang of opening the gifts, and was soon ripping paper off left, right and centre; excitedly revealing various items of clothing from Alyssa’s mom, a few more books from Mr Hawkins, a truck from some kid’s TV show she liked from Trent, a few stuffed animals from Kaylee and Shelby, a baby doll from Betsey and a dolls house from Barry. 

There was one she hadn’t opened though.

Alyssa had made her way to sitting with her family on the floor, and reached for the last unrecognisable package, saving the last big present from her moms for Rosie for last. She picked it up and read the tag, chuckling to herself as she passed it to her baby, hands out ready to receive it.

“That one’s from DeeDee Ro!” Alyssa told her, ruffling her soft curls affectionately, noticing the way Emma looked at the interaction with so much love in her eyes. Rosie tore the paper off giddily, looking up at her parents, confused, when she saw what it was- it wasn’t a doll, she liked those, or a book to read with her mama.

“Huh?” Rosie asked, tilting her head to the side, making both Emma and Alyssa laugh as they looked at what she was holding.

Emma laughed loudly when she realised what it was, not saying anything straight away as she left Alyssa to work it out for a moment. She wasn’t surprised but it was still absoloutely hilarious. No way had the woman actually bought their one-year-old child a…

“Is- Is that a dog toy? That’s literally a dog toy isn’t it…” Alyssa asked, dumbfounded for a second once she connected the dots in her mind, staring at the strangely shaped soft toy, it was shaped like a bone and to any sane person it was clearly made for a canine- then again it was DeeDee who’d bought it. Rosie quirked an eyebrow, squeezing the object that made a sharp squeaking noise, making her jump slightly and cower into Emma, tossing it onto the floor in front of her and shaking her head frantically.

“No, no, no.” Rosie muttered, choosing that as an appropriate word from her limited vocabulary to convey what she thought of the gift, looking again to Alyssa with a concerned look on her face, body turned away from where it laid on the floor. She hadn’t quite gotten the hang of hiding a negative reaction to a gift, but it was her first birthday after all.

“It’s ok baby, it’s not scary.” Alyssa reassured, chuckling lightly at the little girl, moving the dog toy away from her daughter’s gaze, they’d save that- for later- if they ever got a dog… not that they were planning on that. Maybe DeeDee was trying to give them a hint.

“Why don’t we open up this big one Rosie??” Emma asked quickly, diffusing the girl’s confusion at the previous birthday gift she’d received. Emma was most looking forward to this one- it had been her specific choice when they’d been looking for a ‘main’ gift for her birthday. She’d seen it in a few stores whilst shopping and it was perfect. It was one of those teddy bears, but not just an ordinary teddy bear. It had buttons and when you pressed them it made lights flash, and it sung nursery rhymes in a chipper voice. She was sure that her daughter would love it, plus Alyssa approved because one of the songs it sung was ‘the alphabet’ which made it vaguely educational.

“Woah!” Rosie mimicked Alyssa’s own wonder at the new toy, reaching forward a tentative hand to press a bright yellow button on the palm of the white bear’s hand. When she did it blared a loud tune. Rosie stared at it for a few moments, hand pulled tightly back to her and hands shaking. 

“It’s funny Ro! Look, it’s so cool!” Emma prompted eagerly, but she earned a firm shake of the head from the toddler who had reclused from the new present. Rosie did not think it was cool- scary maybe.

Emma and Alyssa both saw the signature bottom lip fall and Alyssa instinctively pulled Rosie into her lap as the wails started. The toy had clearly been just a little too much, too overwhelming for the already worked up baby.

“Shhh shhh it’s ok, we’ll save that one for another day Tiny, it’s ok” Alyssa comforted Rosie as she cried big tears onto her mom’s shoulder, slightly terrified by the innocent looking bear. Alyssa saw Emma’s crestfallen look. It was the toy that she’d precisely picked out for their daughter, and seemingly, she hated it.

Alyssa began to mediate the situation, seeing her wife getting upset and not wanting anything to escalate. It was a happy day; they did not need any more tears for the day. What could she do…?

“Breakfast! Let’s go get some breakfast!” Alyssa suggested, getting up off of the floor, Rosie still in her arms and heading into the kitchen area, “Pancakes sound good?” Alyssa asked her, a little head perking up off of her shoulder at the word. Rosie didn’t like her new toy but she did like pancakes.

After a breakfast of pancakes and a bit of fruit, the family spent the rest of the morning playing with the gifts that Rosie wasn’t scared of, reading a few books together and then Alyssa painstakingly began setting up the doll house she’d received, marvelling in how cute the little people and tiny furniture was. Rosie started to get stroppy, pulling roughly at the book Emma was reading and knocking over the scenes Alyssa was working on. The flare of a temper was a tell-tale sign that she was tired- it was naptime.

“Shall we go for a nap Rosie, hm?” Alyssa asked her as she crawled over to cuddle into her mom, rubbing heavy eyelids and nodding softly.

“No! We’ve got to have cake!” Emma interrupted; disappointment clear on her face.

Alyssa rolled her eyes at her wife’s antics, scooping Rosie into her arms as she laid her head tiredly onto her shoulder, “Em it might be her birthday but she’s still a baby and she still needs to have a sleep, we can do cake after. I promise” Alyssa told her unshakeably, despite the day they still needed to actually parent their child.

“You’re right, you’re right-“ Emma admitted, a bashful smile on her face as she realised how caught up, she’d gotten- of course she needed a nap, she knew that. She got up to kiss Rosie’s forehead gently, “Sleep tight Ro.” Before Alyssa took her, and a bottle she’d made to her nursery to put her down for a sleep.

Rosie napped for just over two hours, waking up refreshed and ready for the rest of her birthday. Emma got her out of her crib when she woke up that time, greeting her with a wide grin and bringing her out of her room to see Alyssa again, who was sat on her phone messaging her mom and Emma’s grandma some photos she’d taken that morning via their family group chat. Once they’d said their ‘good mornings’ Emma took her up to the table, placing her almost immediately in her high chair, very ready to complete the final, and most important thing on her to-do list- cake.

Emma had ordered a cake from a local bakery, it was far too big for the three of them to eat but the person who she’d placed the order with had assured her she could freeze any excess, and since when had there ever been an issue with excess cake. It was yellow, and shaped like a beehive, ‘my first bee-day’ piped in swirly characters on the side of it (the pun had made her laugh)- and it was also the cutest thing Emma had ever seen, maybe second to the child who’s cake it was. She lit the candles and placed it in front of Rosie, pulling it a little further away when a hand went to grab one of the small flames, a burn would not be a good result, and then the parents started singing happily, greatly entertaining Rosie who was really enjoying the whole flamboyance of the show.

“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Rosie! Happy Birthday to you!” They sung, cheering loudly at the end and clapping their hands, a skill the baby had recently learnt and loved showing off. Emma helped Rosie blow out the candles as Alyssa snapped a few more photos, she was not in a hurry to forget the tender moment.

The family enjoyed cake, even though it was pretty close to dinner time, only after Emma had convinced her wife that it was ok because it was her birthday, and she was sure that Rosie would still eat dinner (she didn’t). The day had been good, really good. It was only them; they’d settled to have her party the following weekend because people had plans, plus they wanted to spend the day just soaking up all the time alone with their daughter and that was exactly what they’d been able to do. 

That night once they were in bed the couple took a few minutes to reflect on the meaning of the day’s events. Both of them were tired from all the happenings, and on top of that it had taken Rosie ages to get to finally fall asleep, no matter how many stories or back tickles or rocking they had attempted. Maybe it was because of the amount of sugar in the cake that was far more than she’d ever had at once in her year of existence, possibly it was just the pent up, second-hand excitement she’d absorbed from the more enthusiastic of the mothers. It was probably both of those things and ten other factors, but they didn’t mind too much, it had been a good day.

“We’ve got a whole entire one year old.” Emma was the first to speak up, a hint of wonder and bewilderment in her voice, interrupting the comfortable silence they’d fallen into, arms and legs intertwined. Alyssa murmured in agreement, tucking her head into the crook of Emma’s neck and sighing contently before whispering softly, only having enough energy to repeat her wife's simple words.

“We’ve got a whole entire one year old.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> happy rosie-versary
> 
> comments & kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> :)


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